Unique Daughter of a Vampire Part Five
by Kelleigh Rae
Summary: Norrah and Elena are both being stalked by a very disgruntled Rebekah. After being captured and tortured the two are rescued and taken to a "safer" place where Rebekah shouldn't be able to find them...
1. Prologue

**Prologue.**

Memories can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy depending on the circumstance. They can be elicited by any of the five senses; some more than others. At times it is possible for the mind to store certain memories away deeply, only to be accessed by a sophisticated sequence of events. Others can be plucked from the psyche at a moment's notice. The human mind had capabilities that far exceed our meager understanding. The more we learn about it, the more questions arise.

I have lived a very long time and seen so many things. It still amazes me that I can clearly remember a day when I was merely twelve years old. There are days just a week or so ago when I can scarcely recall what I did. I don't like to think of it as an aging mind, as my mind never ages, but prefer to think that it just wasn't important enough to take up any room in an overcrowded storage facility.

I've often seen people who remind me of those who've gone before them. Whether by coincidence or relation they make me think of the ones from my past. My husband, for example, was blue-eyed with dark blond hair. His build was that of an athlete, a physique carved from long days of manual labor. We fit together perfectly like pieces of a puzzle, not so much in the physical sense, but in every other aspect of our lives. Although in the end it seemed that our love was not as true as I had believed it to be, I still find solace in the memories of happier times.

It was rare to come across any man who could compare to Thomas. His looks were of course quite common, but the man he truly was in his heart, that is what I have never really seen in another. His touch was gentle, the warmth of his body was so tantalizingly inviting. I never loved him more than when I saw him with our little girl propped on his knee or kissing her goodnight. Those memories are the keepers; most others are just clutter in an already hoarded mind.


	2. First

**First.**

I couldn't tear my eyes away and surely I was making him uncomfortable. The last time I had seen that face was, well it was not under pleasant circumstances. He looked so young just as my husband had when we were married. I assumed he was right around the same age as well. My heart pounded and I could feel heat rising up my neck and the blush spreading across my face.

"Let me help you with that," my savior said as he bent down and helped gather the towels and clothes I had dropped. We put everything safely on the counter.

"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Matt Donovan." Oh God. My heart sank. This was the same Matt that both Elena and Caroline had dated at some point.

"I'm Norrah," I said quickly, "I'm Elena's cousin."

"Oh, I had no idea that Elena had any cousins," he replied.

"We're distant cousins," I explained, "in fact we only just meet a few months ago. Up until then I don't think that she knew she had any either." I smiled at him and then remembered what an utter mess I was. "Well it was very nice meeting you Matt. Thank you so much for everything you did for me today. I hope to see you again around town."

"Yeah, me too," he smiled back at me. "I work down at The Grille in town, so if you ever stop by, look for me." He walked out of the bathroom and started down the hall. I was just about to close the door when I heard him call my name.

"Oh Norrah," he said starting back in my direction, "Stefan wanted me to tell you to thank Lexi for coming up with the plan. I'm not completely sure what that means or who Lexi is, but I don't ask too many questions when it comes to vampires and witches and such."

"I'll make sure to tell her," I assured him. "See you around." He waved and I closed and locked the door as I heard him walking away and out the front door.

I turned around to find Lexi sitting up on the counter. "You came up with the plan? What was he talking about?" I asked her. "You were with me in the car. How did you get a message to them?"

"Well you were passed out for most of the ride. After you went out I popped back up to the cabin, grabbed your journal and pen. I went to the boarding house and wrote everything down on a blank page, tore it out and gave it to Stefan. He executed it from there and when Rebekah got to the house I popped back into the car to wake you up."

"Oh my God Lex, you saved my life again." I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and let a few tears fall before letting go.

"Yeah, yeah, well, it turns out I kinda like you," she teased as she smiled at me. "Now get in that shower and make it fast, you aren't safe here and we need to get you somewhere that you will be."

"Can Rebekah get in here?" I asked as I turned on the shower.

"No, but Klaus and Katherine can so get a move on," she said as she left the room.


	3. Second

**Second.**

I took a fast shower, most of the dirt just rinsed off and the rest just needed a quick pass with a bar of soap. My hair was a different story. It was tangled and clumped with blood and dirt. I had to scrub three times before the water ran clear and then once more to get out the last few clots. When it was finally all out I turned off the shower, dried off and got dressed. After brushing my teeth and towel drying my hair I walked out to the living room where Caroline and Elena were sitting.

"Elena, what are you doing here?" I asked her quickly. "Klaus and Katherine have access, we have to get you out of here fast."

Caroline just kept looking down at her hands. I was confused. "Is this about Matt? I swear Elena I had no idea that's who he was. He looked almost exactly like a man I used to know."

Elena smiled and stood, something wasn't right. "You mean a man you used to love, don't you? So much so that you married him and had a child?"

"Katherine? What are you doing here? What did you do to Caroline?" I asked her ready for a fight.

"Relax my dear, I haven't done anything. I think she might still be a little sensitive because of what happened the last time we met." Katherine explained.

"You sprayed me in the face with vervain," Caroline recalled as she lifted her head to face Katherine, "then you threatened to kill me and my friends unless Norrah went with you. Thank goodness she's not a selfish bitch like you are or we'd all be dead."

"Oh please," Katherine responded, "I wasn't really going to kill you. You are my daughter's friends." She said as she came over to me and stroked my hair. Her hands felt clumsy and awkward and after a moment I pulled away.

"So why are you here now?" I asked her.

"Well I needed to make sure that you were alright," she said to me. "Who knew if the plan Casper came up with would work or not?"

"Well I'm here and I'm fine, so you can go now," I told her.

Katherine looked down at me and wrinkled her forehead. "So you really don't care about me at all? Remember Anelia, I am your real mother after all."

"My name is Norrah, and I'm sorry that you never had the chance to see me, hold me, or name me, but none of that was my fault. I didn't choose this life or the one I had as a human, but at least that one was happy."

"Actually, Norrah, your name is Katherine, just as mine is. Respectable women of that time period would never have used nicknames. They were given a name and that is what they were called no matter how much they liked it or not."

"Well I was a peasant, and I went by Norrah so either address me by that name or by none at all," I told Katherine as I stood up to face her.

"Enough," we heard Caroline say from the other side of the room. "We need to come up with a plan and quickly. Rebekah must know by now that Norrah is gone and she is undoubtedly on the hunt."

Caroline's phone began to ring just before she finished her sentence. We both listened in as she spoke to Stefan. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Is he going to be okay?" "Elena, no she's at Bonnie's house." "She's here with me, and so is Katherine." "What, why?" "But where?" "Uh yeah, you can bet she's going to be mad." "Fine hold on." Caroline handed the phone over to me and stormed out of the room.

"Stefan what's going on over there?" I asked him nervously. "What happened when Rebekah figured out I was gone.

"Damon is, well let's just say that he is pretty banged up. I need you to listen carefully to what I am about to say to you and do exactly what I say." Stefan emphasized. "I need you to go and get Elena from Bonnie's and you two need to run. Get as far away from here as possible. Leave your cell phones and laptops here, we don't want you to be tracked. Katherine has money for you so you won't need ATM's. Provided that she gives you all of it you should have enough to last a month or more."

"I don't understand, if we can't call you to tell you where we are, then how will you know we are safe?" I asked.

"Caroline sent over that pay-as-you-go phone with Katherine earlier, so I want you to leave, get settled, make sure you are safe, and then call ONLY on that phone. You have the number, right?" he asked me.

"Yes, I have it." I told him.

"Okay, it may be a week or more before you are safe to call, only use public phones or ask to borrow someone's cell. Also, make sure you are disguised enough that if she goes looking for you no one will be able to say they've seen you."

"This is getting really intense Stefan, you're starting to scare me."

"Good," he said, "you should be scared. Rebekah is not one to mess around with. She doesn't dole out second or third chances very often, and she is determined to find and kill you."

I heard what sounded like a muffled scream in the background followed by loud moaning.

"I have to get back to Damon," Stefan told me. "Get over to Bonnie's, grab Elena and run. We'll talk in about a week and only on that phone, got it? And Norrah, Please be careful, I don't want anything else to happen to you or Elena."

I thanked him and hung up. "Funny," Katherine broke in, "he didn't say anything about something bad happening to me."

"I think he knows you can hold your own," I replied. "I have to go get Elena, and you and Caroline had better head over to the boarding house. Something tells me Damon is in much worse shape than Stefan let on and I think he needs more help."

"Fine," Katherine said as she handed over a wad of bills. "Where is Vampire Barbie anyway?"

I found Caroline in her room and explained the plan. She wasn't pleased about going with Katherine, but if Stefan and Damon needed her she would go. Before they left Caroline made me promise to keep Elena safe. I told her I would do anything I could for her. Katherine on the other hand warned me not to get myself and her killed doing something stupid. Yet she can't figure out why I still won't consider her a mother, baffling.


	4. Third

**Third.**

I made a quick call to Bonnie's, grabbed only my journal and a jacket and took off. When I got to Bonnie's Elena was there waiting. I quickly explained everything to Bonnie; she thought she might be able to help Damon as well so after a few rounds of hugging and assuring her that we would be alright she left.

I stood in the entranceway with Elena and explained what we needed to do. My car was in the driveway at the Salvatore's and it wouldn't be safe to take hers. We would have to get into town somehow and then use the tiny, hand drawn map that Stefan had folded up in the money Katherine had reluctantly handed over. With everyone else occupied the only person with a vehicle that she could think of was Matt. She called him before I had a chance to protest. He was at the house five minutes later.

This time I could clearly see his old blue pick-up truck and once we were safely in the truck the familiar feel of the fabric seats and the sound of Matt's voice calmed me somewhat. He and Elena chatted for a minute or two and then he turned his attention to me, asking how I was feeling.

"I'm much better, thank you," I replied folding my hands in my lap and looking dawn at my feet the way I did when I was still living with my mother. "I was more dirty than hurt."

"Well you must have taken quite a blow to the head," he said. "You were pretty out of it."

"I hope I didn't mess up your truck or your clothes," I said after realizing that the blood and dirt were still fairly fresh when he took me from Stefan.

"Nothing that can't be easily cleaned up," he assured me as we pulled into the town square.

A blush had risen up my neck and into my cheeks. I couldn't believe it, this hadn't happened in over five hundred years, but here it was. I was crushing on Matt Donovan. Elena looked over at me and realized what was going on while Matt jumped out of the car and ran around to get the door for us. She smiled at me, open mouthed in shock as our door swung open and Matt offered his hand to help us down.

"Thank you for the ride," I said after Elena was out and he closed the door. "We really appreciate it." I was still looking down, my neck and face ablaze.

"Yeah, thanks Matt. You've been a real lifesaver today," Elena told him. If only he understood the irony of that statement.

"Hey if you ladies want to stop by the Grille, I'll be there tonight…free drinks, sound appealing?" He asked us as I looked up at him.

"I wish we could, but we have somewhere else to be," Elena explained. I couldn't talk at all, I was completely lost in his crystal blue eyes.

"Alright then, another time maybe," he said as he rounded his truck, hopped in the driver's seat and waved as he drove off.

"Another time definitely," I said quietly. Elena was looking at me again and smiling.

"You like Matt don't you?" she asked.

"What, I just met him," I replied, playing coy. "He just reminds me of someone I used to know. Anyway, we have to get going," I quickly changed the subject and pulled out the map. "It looks simple enough, but it doesn't lead very far." I told Elena.

"Maybe they have a car waiting for us so that we won't have to be on foot the whole time."

Of course, why hadn't I thought of that. They certainly wouldn't want us to be trekking through the woods. I've already had that adventure and wasn't quite ready to relive it.

"By the way," Elena said, "is Lexi here?"

I looked around and shook my head. I was surprised I hadn't noticed earlier that she was gone. "She's probably planning to meet us along the way. Let's go, it's starting to get dark." We took off in the direction the map pointed never thinking twice about where it might be leading us.

As we got closer Elena recognized the area and stopped short. "Something doesn't seem right, why would Stefan lead us this way?"

"I don't know, I'm just following the map," I replied. "Why don't we get off of the road and move into the trees just a little to make sure it is safe."

Elena agreed and we moved about fifteen feet into the tree line and kept walking. I was starting to understand the feeling she had that something was off. I looked ahead to the point where the map ended and saw a car parked on a bridge. Carefully we inched closer to the road and slowly came up behind the car. It was dark by now but the lights near the bridge illuminated the car.

We were about fifty feet away from the car when Elena grabbed my hand. "Stefan wouldn't have led us this way, we have to go back, something is wrong."

"Why?" I asked her. "This is exactly what you thought, it led us to a getaway car."

"Can I see that map?" she asked me. I handed it over to her. "Norrah, this isn't Stephan's handwriting. He would never have led us to Wickerey Bridge. This is where the accident happened when my parents were killed. We have to get out of here."

The driver's side door of the car opened and a familiar figure stepped out. "You're right, he wouldn't have done that to you Elena, but I would!"


	5. Fourth

**Fourth.**

Rebekah rushed at us as I tried to shield Elena with my body. "Well, well, isn't this a nice surprise?" Rebekah half smiled, half sneered at us. "I was hoping for one guest of honor and instead I get two."

"Leave Elena alone, take me."

"You see, I've already given Elena enough chances to save herself so this time no, I'm going to take you both." In a flash her hand whipped around grabbing Elena by the hair causing her to cry out. She grabbed my arm and twisted me around so that her arm fell across my chest as mine twisted painfully behind. I could have used my other hand to fight back but I wouldn't risk hurting Elena so instead I grabbed her hand and squeezed.

When we got to the car Rebekah twisted me like a dancer as the trunk popped open and pushed me in. She gave Elena's hair one good yank and tossed her in as well and closed the trunk over us. I quickly popped my shoulder into place and crawled over to Elena who was holding her head in pain. I couldn't see much, but there was a little light coming through a rusted hole. I heard the engine fire up and we started moving, very fast for these little roads.

I moved her hands away from her scalp. I felt the skin tightening and swelling, obviously her scalp had been torn from her skull. "Let me heal it," I whispered as I prepared to bite my wrist.

"No," she replied. "If she finds me healed then she might figure out what you are. It's okay, we can worry about it later." Her hands returned to her scalp as she rested her head down. I shimmied out of my jacket and placed it under her head so the bumps in the road wouldn't be so jarring. The trip wasn't long, but I knew better than most how long it felt when you were in pain. When we stopped and she popped the hood I could see the bruising not only on her head, but it was spreading down her face as well.

Rebekah just smiled. "Perhaps you won't fight so much this time then."

She pulled out a thick rope and tied our hands then pulled each of us out of the car. I had to pretend that my shoulder still hurt, but Elena didn't have to act at all. She was in agony, and with each step it must have shot pain through her skull. I wanted to cry for her. Instead I looked around at the house and the grounds.

"Where are we?" I asked, not really intending to say it out loud.

"Shouldn't really matter much to you since you won't be alive long enough to appreciate it anyway," she informed me while pushing us up the stairs.

She shoved us at the top step and I landed hard on a board with a loose nail scratching my knee; causing it to tear open. Luckily Elena didn't get hurt, but as I stood up Rebekah swung around, lifted my pant leg and bit into my fresh wound. I cried out, but it was quick.

Elena screamed out, "Stop!" as Rebekah lifted her face from my leg. She walked over towards Elena, fangs still barred.

"Would you rather I had a go at you?" She asked as she leaned in towards her neck. She stopped just shy of Elena's skin and whispered, "not to worry, your turn will come." She smiled, her face returning to its normal state as she unlocked and opened the front door. I was terrified. If this house had a human owner I wouldn't be able to get in and she might figure it out. Elena took the lead as I stared at the doorway and tentatively stepped in. Thank goodness, I thought, no human owner.

The house itself was unimpressive, it looked like it belonged in some 1990's development community. It was just a cheaply built box with even cheaper accessories that were made to mimic expensive pieces. Carpeting on most of the floors; the bloodstains did not escape my eyes. At least the wallpaper wasn't tacky, though no one had gone to the trouble of hiding the uneven seams. Rebekah led us up the dark stairway and down a short hallway.

Two rooms were set up next to one another. Both were neat and clean with a bed, dresser, two night stands each with a lamp, a free standing full length mirror and a small desk with a few books lined up on a shelf just above it. The beds were made up very tastefully and had been turned down at the heads. Each room was a mirror image of the other, right down to the bed linens.

Rebekah untied Elena's hands first and shoved her into one of the rooms. Poor Elena was so disoriented from the pain that it was all she could do to lie down on top of the bed sheets and close her eyes, moaning quietly in pain. As Rebekah untied my hands I prepared to walk into the room unassisted until she grabbed my wrist and bit down. This time I didn't hesitate to fight her off and before long she removed her teeth dropping my bloody wrist to my side. She pushed me into the room and hit some button or switch outside the doors, and bars dropped down out of nowhere in both of our doorways as well as the windows.

She turned her head back and forth between us. "Don't bother trying to get out," she said. "Even I can't bend those bars." She smiled in at me since I was the only one looking at her. "I'll see you for dinner, please dress accordingly." And with that she disappeared in a flash. I heard the front door slam and the car start back up.

"Elena…Elena," I called into the room. "Come to the doorway, quickly."

There was another bar enforced window in between the rooms and I watched as she slowly raised herself up, still clutching her head. She stumbled over to the door, her eyes almost completely closed to swelling and bruising. Not having to bite my wrist since Rebekah had already done that for me I reached between the bars and told her to drink. I didn't care what Rebekah thought of me, I couldn't stand to see Elena in pain. She groped around for a moment trying to find my hand and then started to bend down.

"NO!" I heard as my hand was batted away and pushed back into my room. I stumbled backwards. Lexi stood in front of me her face red with rage. Are you crazy, you can't give her your blood!" she exclaimed.

"Lexi, I have to, look at her, she's suffering," I replied as I started back towards the doorway. Suddenly the door that was outside of the bars swung shut. "What the hell, Lex? Elena could die from that kind of an injury. What is wrong with you?"

"You can't give her your blood. You can't give any human your blood, ever," she said to me.

"I'm not going to turn her, Lex, but she needs help." I pushed her aside and headed back towards the door. She grabbed me by the throat and threw me down onto the bed.

"You can't give her your blood." She said as she straddled my body as I tried to twist away from her. "The blood of a Unique doesn't heal humans Norrah," she said to me sadly. "It kills them."


	6. Fifth

**Fifth.**

I was astounded. "What are you talking about?" I asked her.

"I was hoping that you would keep your promise never to give your blood to a human again."

"Elena is different, she's family," I said to Lexi. "What do you mean it kills them, you would have been okay if you hadn't choked on it."

"I didn't choke, Nor. Some blood trickled down my throat right before I died. It was the blood that killed me, if your blood even touches Elena's tongue she'll die."

"So I really did kill you. No matter how you twist it there was no way that you would have lived at all?" I asked through a cascade of tears. I was the grim reaper. Everywhere I go death follows, animal, human, it didn't matter. I couldn't help anyone. I was a killer.

"Norrah, I need you to pull yourself together. What happened between us was a fluke, okay, no one could possibly have known. I only found out because I bumped into one of Katherine's 'experiments' on the other side. They know a lot more then Katherine does about Uniques. Look, I would love to stay here and explain, but I have to go, just please don't get yourself killed while I'm gone."

"Lex…" I called out but she had disappeared. "Alexia Branson, don't you dare leave me like this. Lexi!" I would have started tearing the room apart if I wasn't sobbing so hard. Each breath racked my body into tremors. I heard Elena calling out for me. I crawled to the bars, reached through and turned the knob. The door swung out and I leaned up against the bars unable to control my crying.

"I killed her," I said between tears, "Alexia, I killed her." A whole new batch of tears started as I held onto the bars with one hand and swiped at my eyes with the other.

I never heard the car pull up or the front door open but suddenly there was Rebekah looking gorgeous as usual, beautiful in an emerald green top with multiple necklaces, bracelets and rings. Her high heeled boots looked brand new. Everything about her was perfect except for her attitude. She stared in at both of us and then commanded that Elena come to the doorway. She opened the gate and pulled her out, Elena could barely stand by now.

Rebekah bit deep into her own wrist and held it to Elena's mouth. She drank enough to heal but no more. When she was done Rebekah took one of Elena's wrists, looked up at me and raised her eyebrows.

"No!" I shouted my body crashing into the bars. "Leave her alone, please. She's been through enough."

"Haven't we all," Rebekah replied. My eyes grew wide with terror, I was helpless to save her as Rebekah bit down. Elena hardly flinched. I continued my protest and Rebekah dropped her hand. "It was just a cocktail before dinner." She said as she lowered Elena's bars and opened mine. "You need to attire yourself appropriately if we are to dine together tonight."

"I am not dining with you, and besides I have no other clothes," I told her as I tilted my head. "Just do it now and get it over with."

She looked tempted, but instead of biting me she opened the drawers in the dresser and pulled out a stunning dress made of sky blue silk with lace accents. I had seen that dress before, but where? She laid it out on the bed, helped me with some under skirting, the likes of which I hadn't seen in well over a century, then slipped the dress over my head. It had a bodice in the back and it took about ten minutes to get the lacing properly tied. She combed out my long hair and tied a simple ribbon around my head with a bow slightly off center. Make-up was easy and quick. When she finally tuned me to see myself in the mirror I couldn't believe how much I looked like Elena and Katherine.

"There, now that you are set I am going to get myself ready." She said once she was back in the hallway and my bars came back down.

Now what was I to do? I didn't want to wrinkle it, and the fabric was so soft. I found some lace gloves set out on the bureau and put them on as well; if I was going to die I might as well do so fashionably. Elena, who had finally healed, looked at me through our adjoining window. She walked over to the bars and asked, "Do you mind me saying that you look an awful lot like your mother?"

"Normally I would, but on this night, no, I am happy to look like her, at least for a little while. She is beautiful after all," I told her. "Though I prefer to think that I look an awful lot like you."

"Norrah please be careful," She said to me, her hand on her forehead "I have to go lie down for a bit. Wake me up before you go just in case…"

Her sentence trailed off but I knew what she meant. Just in case I never came back. I paced around the room not wanting to wrinkle the fabric until Rebekah emerged in the most glorious crimson dress. It had gold and silver trim and a single silver necklace with a ruby colored stone that offset it exquisitely. What a beautiful ensemble.

Wait, I had seen both of these dresses before, but they were both on her. It was in my dream about going to her house with Alexia. She had been wearing the dress I was now wearing during the day at the mercantile, and the one she wore now for the evening. That can't be right unless…unless she really is planning to kill me tonight.

I called out for Elena but she didn't even stir. Tonight would be the night that I finally have my wish. I will go up and see my precious Maddie, Mother, Father and even Thomas. Lexi must be off gathering everyone together. I prayed that she had found Maddie as I took Rebekah's hand and let her lead me off to the gallows…


	7. Sixth

**Sixth.**

She led me into a parlor and sat me down on a couch. She took her seat on the couch across from me and just stared for a few minutes; her intent to make me nervous was working marvelously. She smiled and offered me a drink, but I declined. I sat straight upright with my hands folded in my lap the way my mother had always taught me to do as a visitor in one's house.

Rebekah leaned back on the couch and narrowed her eyes at me. "I'm bored so let's play a little game. I'll ask you a question and if I believe you are telling the truth then we move on to the next question. If I believe you are lying then I get a bite," she smiled as she spoke clearly already having made up her mind that she was going to kill me. I reluctantly agreed. What else could I do? If I fought back she could hurt Elena. That gave me an idea.

"Alright, but let's say that you win and I die. If that happens you have to let Elena go, and you can't hurt her in the process." I rather doubted this tactic would work. After all, if I was dead then who would reinforce the rules? I've always hated games with rules as it was.

"Fine, let's get on with it then," she said, still smiling. "First question, what is your real full name?"

I hoped that all the questions would be this easy. "Katherine Ella-Norrah Christian," I told her without flinching.

"And that was the full name given to you at birth then I suppose?"

"Well no, my family name was Christova but it was changed when I was still little." I told her truthfully. She stood and walked casually over to me asking for my hand. Damn, I thought. She bit into the still tender spot that she had earlier and drank an ample amount. If I wasn't careful this game would be over very quickly.

She dropped my wrist, handed me a linen napkin and returned to her seat. "Christova, that would put your lineage in the eastern section of Europe, am I right?"

"Yes, that's right." I told her determined not to divulge any more than was absolutely necessary.

"From which country exactly?" she asked me. I felt as though I was being baited; as though she already knew these answers.

"Bulgaria," I told her bluntly.

"I see," she said, minding her composure as I am sure she was getting antsy. I knew Rebekah was not known for her patience. "I knew a girl once from Bulgaria. Her name was Katerina Petrova until she came to America where it was changed to Katherine Pierce. Have you heard of her?"

"Well of course," I said back, "Damon mentioned her many times actually." Two could play at this game. Rebekah's face changed from that of feigned joy to anger very quickly; I'd have to watch my step.

"And did you ever happen to have the opportunity to meet her?" she asked me, again with the vague questioning.

"Yes, I have met Katherine on several occasions," I responded. "Does this line of questioning have a point?" I asked.

"Why, am I boring you, or do you have something to hide?" she asked me as the smirk crept back onto her face. "I'm just trying to get to know you Norrah, everyone else already does and I'm feeling somewhat left out."

"Then get to the point and stop pussy-footing around. What do you want to know?" In a flash she was at my neck biting down hard. I knew I had pushed her too far, but I was getting angry too. It was getting more and more difficult not to change and fight her. After she had taken her fill she backed away.

"Obstinance won't get you very far Norrah. For the sake of your life I would suggest that you play nice." She pulled out a handkerchief and delicately wiped her chin and then sat back down on the couch. "Now, doesn't it seem strange that both you and Katherine Pierce are from the same country, both ended up in America and both have the same first name?"

"There are probably fifteen Rebecca's in this town alone, so unless that seems odd to you then no, I think it to be perfectly reasonable."

She frowned. "Who were your parents?"

"Branimir Christov and Ellanore Madison" I replied.

She smiled again, "But Ellanore was not your birth mother, was she? Who carried you for the nine months prior to your first encounter with Ellanore?" she asked. "And if you lie to me I will go upstairs and break Elena's legs. You wouldn't want that now would you?"

"My birth mother was a fifteen year old girl who took to bed one night with my father. I was an illegitimate child of an underage young woman and was cast off immediately after birth and then was told by my parents that the young girl had died shortly after I was born."

"And what year were you born then?" she asked me.

"I was born in the nineties," I replied.

"That would make sense given your appearance," she said sarcastically. "Well then I have one last question and then you may return to your room."

"Good, what is it then?" I asked her.

"How is it that you came to possess that ring around your neck?" My blood ran cold. So Rebekah was the one that Lexi kept referring to who wanted my necklace.

I grabbed it tightly in a fist. "It is a family piece passed down through the generations. My mother gave it to me when I turned nine and I've had it ever since. Why do you ask?"

"Only because I know that ring, I knew its original owner as well, Tatia. So if it is indeed the same ring then I wouldn't have expected you to have it."

"Why not?" I asked knowing that I was headed for trouble.

"Well I'd have thought that Elena would have it by now. I know that it was tradition to pass that ring down to the eldest daughter on or around her tenth birthday. I also know that it belonged to the Petrova family which would make you one of them." She looked at me with an evil grin. "I am not sure yet where exactly you fall in the line, but I'll find out, and when I do you will certainly have some explaining to do."

With that she flew at me, bit down hard on my neck and nearly drained me in seconds. "Thank you so very much for that delightful dinner Miss Petrova, or perhaps I should just call you Katherine from now on." I was about to protest when I felt something hard hit my head and I blacked out.


	8. Seventh

**Seventh.**

I woke a few hours later. The room was dark so I reached to the bedside table and flicked the lamp on. To my horror I found Rebekah seated in a chair less than five feet away from me. I tried to back up against the headboard to get as far from her as possible, but my strength was so diminished by the lack of blood, and my head pounding where a large lump had formed that I wasn't able to get far. Rebekah just sat there smiling arms and legs crossed watching me. I squinted and put my hand up to the tender spot on my skull.

"Now what do you want?" I asked her in a less than polite tone.

"I was just here to check and see how you are doing," she said. "That was a nasty bump you took to the head last night and I wanted to be sure that you were okay."

"No you didn't," I threw back at her. "You came to see if it had healed and was back to normal. Well it hasn't and I'm not so please go away."

"Fine, then we can cross vampire and werewolf off the 'what type of supernatural being is Norrah list. So what does that leave me with? Hmm…" she said as she reached behind her and pulled out a bottle of blood taking several sips before addressing me again. "Would you like some? It's awfully good and about as fresh as possible."

I stared at her with my brow furrowed. What did she mean by that last statement? I cringed at her and replied, "No, I certainly don't want any of that." I thought about what she meant by fresh. Did she just go on a hunt? Was there a dead body somewhere in the house?

"Where exactly did you get that?" I asked her.

"So you are interested," she said. "I'll run and get you a cup if you want."

"All I want is for you to tell me where you got it." I replied.

"Well where else?" she asked as if I should have known. "I got it from Elena. I'll admit that it's not the quality of yours, but it's still quite good."

I gingerly made my way off the bed, my head spinning from whatever she had hit me with earlier. When I got to the window I could see Elena lying in the bed, eyes open looking listlessly up towards the ceiling.

"You bitch," I called out to Rebekah who had stepped back into the hallway and lowered the bars. "What did you do to her?"

"Now calm down. Bleeding someone is an old fashioned way of ridding them of disease or demons, and in Elena's case vervain. I've been doing it for hours. First I bleed her to near death and then heal her." She took a long swig from the bottle.

The vervain is completely out of her system now." She smiled as she walked into Elena's room, bit into her own wrist and shoved it into Elena's mouth. When she was finished she came back out into the hallway and closed the bars on Elena's room.

I was still staring in at her through the window as she pinked up and started to move again. Rebekah stood outside of my room head cocked to the side and smirking with her arms crossed. "Your turn if you'd like some," she told me as she bit into her other wrist.

I just turned around and walked to the exterior window.

"Fine, but the next time I'm hungry it's your turn and if you aren't healed then it will be a very quick death for you."

I remained at the window as I heard her gruffly sigh and walk away. I didn't know what time it was, but I heard the front door open and close and Rebekah's little sports car start up. She must have retrieved it earlier and given back the other to its owner. I tried to look up at the stars, but even my upward gaze was too painful. Forget it, I thought as I lifted them as high as possible and concentrated as best I could. The pain in my head started to decrease and went away.

I slowly walked over to the doorway, still very weak from the lack of blood, got down on my knees and called out for Elena. I reached my hand out for her and quickly felt hers in mine. We both squeezed and asked if the other was okay. Once I was satisfied that she was I let go of her hand.

"We've got to figure out how to get out of here, and fast," I told her. "I don't have much time. If she comes back for me she'll drain me. I'm not really ready to see if an Original actually could kill me."

"What do you think we can do?" she asked. "Is Lexi here, maybe she has some ideas?"

"I don't know where she is, so for now we're on our own." I said. "Wait, listen, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Elena asked me.

"A car just pulled in; she's back." Quickly we both scurried back to our beds as we heard the front door open. We both feigned sleep hoping that Rebekah wasn't coming in for the kill this time.

I pushed my eyelids together as tightly as possible. If she was coming for me, I didn't want to see her.

"Norrah," I heard a voice whisper, "Norrah, it's me, Stefan." Stefan! Had I the energy I would have jumped out of the bed and run to him. Instead I rolled over and opened my eyes as I heard him and Elena exchange a few words. I rose slowly and walked on shaky legs over to the door. Stefan looked over at me in shock and horror. "What did she do to you?"

"She tried to kill me in an attempt to figure out what I am, but I didn't let her see it. I used every ounce of energy I had to hold back, but she never saw me change."

"Good, so she still doesn't know," he said.

"But I think that she figured out that I am related to Katherine and Elena, she just isn't sure how; at least not yet."

"Well we can worry about that later after you are both safe. Now how do the bars work?" He asked.

"I don't know. Look for a panel or a switch on the wall somewhere." I told him. I'd never seen how she got them to work so I didn't know where else to start.

"There's nothing out here," he told us. "She must have a remote device." He tried to bend them but was unable to do so.

"That must be the case then." Rebekah appeared out of nowhere, stake in hand and ready to fight Stefan. He was no match for her and when she raised the stake we knew it was over. Elena and I both screamed as her face transformed, she hissed and the stake started to lower.

We heard a crack, not of stake hitting ribs, but of something heavy hitting bone and Rebekah slumped to the floor. Katherine stood behind Stefan holding a large marble statue of some sort that she had used to knock Rebekah out. She glanced in at me still in the satin gown. "Well, aren't we all dressed up for the party."

Stefan looked up at her in surprise; apparently this wasn't a planned dual rescue. She dropped the statue on the ground near where Rebekah laid. She looked back and forth between me and Elena trying to figure out why Elena looked perfectly healthy and I was a frail tortured mess.

"She knows something," I told them. "She recognized the ring and she knows that I'm a Petrova, but she doesn't know where I fall in the lineage or what I am." I said that last part quietly in case Rebekah could still hear us.

Katherine handed me in two bottles of blood and told me to hurry up and finish them. I was done in less than a minute and my strength was restored soon thereafter. "Try to see if you can bend those bars while I look for some sort of remote device to open them," she told me as she started searching Rebekah.

I took a few deep breaths and grabbed the bars. Rebekah was right, they were very strong, but I was able to bend them enough to slide through. Katherine slipped me another bottle of blood. "Where did you get all of these?" I asked her suspiciously.

"The first two were from the boarding house," she told me, "and that one I found downstairs when I slipped into the kitchen as Rebekah snuck up the stairs.

"I can't drink that," I told her bluntly.

"Why not, because it's human?" she asked me. "You have got to get over that. Just drink it."

"Not just because it is human," I replied, "because it's Elena's."

"Norrah, please," Elena begged, "please just drink it and get me out of here. It's okay, Stefan and Damon have both had my blood before. Please!"

I shook my head as I unscrewed the bottle top and took a few swigs. I put it back down and grabbed the bars. It seemed much easier this time and Elena was out and in Stefan's arms in a matter of minutes. Katherine reacted to that. I knew she still had feelings for him.

"Okay, now what do we do about her?" I asked pointing to the unconscious Rebekah.

"I say we go find one of those daggers and take the bitch down," Katherine suggested.

"No," Stefan chimed in, "let's just put her up in one of the beds. She's bound to wake up with one hell of a headache anyway.

I helped Stefan to carry her in through the bent bars and get her up onto a bed. "Okay, let's get out of here." I said as we all rushed down the stairs and out of the house.


	9. Eighth

**Eighth.**

Once we were out of the house and safely in the car I felt that I could finally breathe again. "So the two of you came together?" I asked Stefan and Katherine.

"No, I didn't know she was coming at all," Stefan told us.

"I followed him and parked about a mile up the road. Don't worry, this isn't a family road trip," she said as we pulled up to her parked car. "Norrah take a quick walk with me."

"I don't think that is a good idea," Elena chimed in.

"Well I didn't ask you now did I Elena," Katherine snapped back. "Come with me please."

"Just make it quick Katherine, and no dirty tricks. We've all had more than enough for one night." Stefan told her.

Katherine responded by slamming her door, taking my hand and slamming mine as well. We walked a good ways away for the car, but not far enough that Stefan couldn't listen in. She must have known that. So why would she pull me away if she knows full well that he can hear us? Once she started to speak I understood.

Katherine held both of my wrists and spoke in rapid fire Bulgarian. No wonder she didn't go farther. This way if Stefan asked about what she was saying she and I would know he had been listening. She started telling me about the Originals, the ones who were still 'alive' and those who were not. I had only encountered Rebekah, but there were at least three brothers and their mother, the Original Witch. No one had seen or heard from her in months, but that didn't mean she was gone for good.

She gave me photographs of each of them with their names on the back and a few quick notes about their habits and personalities. I was fairly warned about Klaus and his hybrids.

"Just study those pictures so that they don't catch you off guard."

Stefan was starting to get impatient and worried that Rebekah would soon wake and come after us. He exchanged a few words with Katherine and then started the engine.

"Norrah," she called out just before we left. Switching back into Bulgarian she said the phrase that had become so familiar to me as of late, "Goodbye my girl, see you again in another life."


	10. Ninth

**Ninth.**

As we drove back into Mystic Falls an unsettling feeling swept over me. I looked down at the pictures that Katherine had given me studying the faces of the brothers I'd yet to meet. Elijah looked kind enough, although most sociopaths made it their mission to blend in with the crowd. Klaus, on the other hand, was your typical bad boy. I could see it in his eyes; a spark of murderous glee hidden behind a handsome 'come hither' look. He would probably be the one to look out for. I wasn't sure of exactly what a hybrid was and I certainly wasn't looking forward to finding out.

We pulled into Bonnie's driveway and she came running out to greet us. I started to make my way out of the car but was stopped when Stefan told me that he was just dropping off Elena; apparently we had a different destination. Elena and Bonnie looked just as confused when I didn't exit the car but Stefan told them not to worry, he wasn't going to let me out of his site this time. The girls waved from the porch as we drove down the street towards the boarding house.

I tensed up as it came into view. My last few days spent there had been rather unpleasant. As we pulled into the driveway my breath caught in my throat when I saw Damon's car parked next to mine. Stefan could sense my discomfort and he assured me that he would be with me the whole time. I smiled weakly back at him; his reassurances were touching, but we all knew that Damon was the stronger of the two. I had personally seen the outcome of a hand-to-hand battle between them and paid dearly.

We walked up the brick stairs onto the front porch, and Stefan opened the ornate wooden door as I held my breath behind him. I don't know what I was expecting to happen; perhaps Damon standing there waiting to apologize or just pretending that nothing had ever happened. I peered in and saw that my concerns were unfounded; Damon was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sure that you are probably exhausted, but if you don't mind I have something I'd like for you to look at in the study."

"Would you mind if I get cleaned up a bit first? Rebekah has a bad habit of playing dirty and leaving her victims that way as well." There was still dried blood on my wrist and in my hair and I needed to get out of this dress.

"Of course, why don't we meet back down here in half an hour? I think I might run out and get a bite anyway."

I looked cautiously up the stairs. "Damon's not here, he and Alaric had some business to attend to so he's gone for the day."

"Okay, I'll be quick." I made my way up the stairs and into the familiar bedroom. Once I was locked in the bathroom I slumped down to the floor and let the tears flow. I had come to Mystic Falls hoping to find Katherine, get some answers, possibly help Elena and then to get out of town. Instead I had turned everyone's lives upside down while they put their own plans on hold to save me from the multitudes of messes I got myself into. To make matters worse, Katherine had become an even bigger problem than I had ever expected.

After a few minutes of self- pity I pulled myself together and got into the shower. Twenty minutes later I was ready and headed down to the study to meet up with Stefan. He had not come back from his hunt yet, so I walked back and forth admiring all of the books and antique artifacts that were housed on the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling shelves. There must have been tens of thousands of books in this one room alone. I heard the front door open and turned to see Stefan entering. He gestured that he needed to wash his hands and a few moments later he was back in the study with me.

"So what is it that you wanted to show me?"

I watched as he pulled out three books from a nearby shelf and then reach his arm deeply into a hidden compartment. When he pulled it out he held two leather bound books. One looked fairly new while the other looked as though it might fall to pieces if you breathed on it wrong. He came as sat beside me on the sofa handing me the more delicate of the two volumes.

"I found this among Katherine's things after she fled Mystic Falls in 1864. At first I wasn't sure what it was; she hadn't yet told us of her European background. We had been under the impression that her family was from Atlanta. Anyway, I found this book which looked like a diary or journal of some kind. Many of the pages are mismatched and were stuffed into the binding at different times. I couldn't figure out what any of it meant until Damon discovered that her family was originally from Bulgaria."

I opened the fragile cover to reveal papers as thin as butterfly wings with markings that were near impossible to read. I flipped through a few of them, but most were just as bad, if not worse, than the first. The paper had rotted and the ink degenerated, I couldn't pick out more than a few characters at best.

"I know that it is in bad shape, so I took it to a friend of mine in Chicago who is a wizard at restoring old documents and he was able to reproduce most of what was originally written in there."

Stefan handed me the newer looking book which I just stared down at for a moment not entirely sure of what I was looking at.

"I can't read Bulgarian, but as far as I can tell that is a collection of journal entries written by Katherine's mother, your grandmother, and Katherine herself. I have no idea what it says, but I think it will mean a lot more to you than it does to me and I want you to have it."

"I don't really know what to say." I had an incredible mix of feelings running through my body. On the one hand it was possible that the real answers to all of my questions could be found in these pages, but it was also possible that my worst fears would be confirmed; I was an unwanted, illegitimate, bastard child who would have been better off left in the woods for the animals to finish me.

"For now don't say anything. I don't know what you might find in there, but take your time going through it. When you're ready you can decide if you want to thank me or slug me." He smiled back at me and I was overwhelmed by his sensitivity and sincerity. "So are we in for the night or do you want to take a chance and grab a bite at The Grille?"

My heart skipped a beat. Matt might be working at The Grille. I couldn't go out looking like this, I would have to change at put on at least a few layers of make-up to hide the damage from the last few days. I had to stop thinking like this, Matt was Elena's ex, he was Caroline's ex, and he was human. I just couldn't get over his similarities to Thomas. I felt like I was that fourteen year old girl in England with a crush on a boy who seemed unattainable.

"Let me just grab a few things and we'll go." I raced up to my room and into the bathroom. I was so nervous that I almost lost an eye trying to line it. My palms were sweating and shaking. I found my purse, Caroline and Bonnie had given all of my stuff to Stefan so I had my wallet, my camera and my journal as well. I put the two diaries in the drawer of the bedside table, I would have to look through them later, but for right now I had one focus and one focus only, seeing Matt Donovan.


	11. Tenth

**Tenth.**

My heart pounded as we made our way up the sidewalk towards The Grille. I was sure Stefan could hear it but being the gentleman that he is, he didn't bring it up. We walked in and I immediately did a scan of the room but I didn't see him. That was okay, maybe he was in the back, or on a break or hadn't come in yet, or… I couldn't believe how flustered I was getting. To make matters worse it occurred to me that people might think Stefan and I were together and get the wrong idea. What if Matt thought that as well? He knew I was a vampire so it might make sense. I shouldn't have come, I should have just stayed at the boarding house and read the journals with my door and windows locked.

I saw Stefan's hand go up to wave out of the corner of my eye and realized that Bonnie, Elena and Caroline were all settled in a booth across the room. I didn't realize we would be meeting them here as well. There goes my chance with Matt. How could I compete with two of his exes, one of whom I'm related to? The initial adrenaline surge I had experienced upon entering The Grille instantly wore off and I became acutely aware of just how tired I actually was. What a waste of a trip; and I guarantee that these free passes out of the house won't come around too often.

Stefan slipped into the seat next to Elena and Caroline and I slid in next to Bonnie. As deflated as I felt at that moment I couldn't help but take another quick look around the room; still no Matt. We all made idle chit-chat until the waitress took our orders. Elena looked as worn out as I felt and all anyone wanted to hear about was what had happened with Rebekah. Neither of us had the energy to give much detail; even if we had it wasn't really something we wanted to talk about anyway. Stefan and Elena started a private conversation which left me to fall prey to Caroline who was nearly as relentless as Lexi. Thankfully our food and drinks came just in time to save me from having to relive the nightmare of the last two days.

By the time we had finished eating Elena and I looked like we were about to fall asleep in our seats. Caroline and Bonnie excused themselves to the restroom and Stefan walked up to the bar to get us all a little pick-me-up to get us home without passing out. I slipped out of my side of the booth and slid in next to Elena.

"So this is life in Mystic falls?"

"Pretty much, but don't worry, a boring winter always leads to an exciting spring." I raised my eyes at her and watched as she smiled weakly at her own joke.

"Are you ladies all finished here?" My heart jumped and I could feel my face instantly turning a deep shade of red as I looked up into his eyes; I was speechless.

Elena nudged me in the ribs. "Hey Matt, did you just come on? I thought we'd have seen you earlier."

"Yeah, the dishwasher was too stoned to come in for his shift so I got stuck back there for most of the day. I'm actually off in about ten minutes."

"Perfect! Then you can give Norrah a ride back to the boarding house, right? Stefan needs to come by the house to pick up some things and Norrah was planning on just walking home, right Norrah?"

I legitimately thought that I was going to die of embarrassment right there in that booth. There was almost no way that this could get any worse, and then Lexi pops in right across the table.

"Yeah, Norrah you really don't want to be walking around here after dark, especially not after what happened the other day. You hurt your head pretty badly. Let me give you a ride, it's no trouble at all."

Lexi and Elena were both kicking me under the table and I was ready to sock both of them. "Sure Matt that would be great. Thanks."

"I'll just meet you back here after I punch out. Gotta go, lots of tables to clear off and very little time to do it in, see you in a bit." He flashed that smile, the one that had me swooning over Thomas over five hundred years ago. I watched him as he walked away and then snapped my attention back to the table.

"What is wrong with you two?" Stefan took a seat across from Elena and I; Lexi moved over just in time to avoid being squashed.

"You two?" Stefan looked back and forth between us, "did I miss something?"

"Lexi is here." She smiled and turned away from me. "Norrah has a crush on Matt and I just secured her a ride home with him so you and I have to go over to the house for a bit. Lexi got to see the whole thing. Is she still here Norrah, what does she think?"

Lexi started to answer while making some wildly crude gestures as I broke in. "She thinks that she had better get her ass out of here before I take off this ring and throw it over the Falls."

She popped over next to me and whispered, "I want details," kissed my cheek and disappeared.

Bonnie and Caroline returned to the table. "So we should probably get going, Elena are you ready?"

"Actually Stefan is going to take me by the house to pick up a few things, clothes, make-up, you know, all the essentials."

"Well we can give Norrah a ride back to the boarding house then," Bonnie offered.

"That's okay, I asked Matt to give her a ride when he finishes up in a few minutes."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at me. "That doesn't really make sense though. Matt lives on the other side of town. Why would he drive all the way out there when we can do it in half the time?"

I could hear jealousy dripping off of every word Caroline said. She was making me uncomfortable, maybe I should just go with Stefan and Elena. Driving with Matt hadn't been my plan in the first place.

"I hope that you know that he won't date vampires, so before you get your hopes up you should probably consider that."

"Except that he's been compelled to forget that Norrah is a vampire, so no one needs to bring that up, right?" Stefan looked directly at Caroline as he said it.

"Wait, did Katherine compel him? That's what she did with my husband too. I just want a chance at a natural relationship and she gets in the way every time."

Stefan just smiled over at me. "Katherine had nothing to do with it, and hopefully she will keep her nose out of it. It was Damon who made him forget. Matt was pretty freaked out that you were a vampire but couldn't heal so Damon switched out his drinks for a day and once the vervain left his body he made him forget. He likes you Norrah so go after him."

"Take a chance. Matt and I have been friends since birth and he's a great guy Norrah."

Elena grabbed her purse and Stefan's hand as they walked out of The Grille. Caroline was still staring me down as Bonnie grabbed their coats and half-dragged her out onto the street. And then there was me, all alone at a table waiting for a boy I didn't even really know but who made my heart flutter every time I thought of him. If I closed my eyes I could almost imagine sitting out on the stone bench in front of my cottage in England with Thomas. My frazzled nerves, my shaking hands held together tightly in my lap. If not for the smell of stale fries and beer it would have been just the same.

I smoothed my hair down in the back having forgotten to bring an elastic or a headband with me. I looked myself over and was appalled when I noticed that I had dropped a small blob of ketchup on my jeans. I grabbed a napkin and stuck it in my water glass, but scrubbing it seemed only to make it worse. I scratched at it with my fingernail and tried to dry it with the other side of the napkin. I never even noticed that he has slid into the booth across from me. When I looked up I jumped slightly.

"Everything all right?"

His voice was the only difference between he and Thomas. Matt had a slightly higher pitch to his where Thomas' voice was deep and gruff.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Just a minor ketchup spill." I wiped at the spot a few more times and then gave up. Looking up at him I smiled.

"So are you ready to get out of here?"

"Yes please."

I slid out of the booth and took a few steps towards the door before I felt his hand in the small of my back. Such a simple gesture but it elicited a chain reaction of excited emotions through my entire body. We walked out the front door and he turned towards the alley next to The Grille where his truck was parked. I paused for a moment as the memory of Katherine grabbing me and pumping me full of vervain came flooding back.

He moved his hand up to my shoulder and pointed to where he was parked. Always the gentleman, just like Thomas, he opened the door for me and helped me up into the cab of his truck. There was a towel placed over the middle portion of the seat that I hadn't noticed before. That must have been where my head rested the night he came to my rescue. I didn't have time to feel guilty though. Matt hopped into the driver's seat and we slowly started to make our way towards the boarding house.


	12. Eleventh

**Eleventh.**

Matt took his time driving and we both talked a little about our families. I had no idea that he'd had a sister who had died. Elena never mentioned it. I kept my family talk to a minimum. I didn't want to have to lie to him. As we made our way down one of the side streets we could see a small SUV with its hazards on just ahead. Matt slowed as we pulled in behind it, opened his window and called out to see if anyone needed help. I heard the voice of a very young girl call back that the car stalled and she didn't know what was wrong. Matt jumped out of the cab while I watched and approached the truck. The hood was already up in the front and I could see steam rising from underneath. I hoped that no one got hurt.

As Matt rounded the front of the car I watched in horror as his feet lifted from the ground as he was being pulled out of my line of vision. I jumped down out of the truck and raced around the car to find Rebekah holding Matt down against the truck, her fangs barred and ready to attack. She smiled over at me as she lowered her head and pierced his skin. That was it, I wasn't playing games with her anymore. My fangs descended and I rushed at her, pushing her off of him with a strength I didn't even realize that I possessed. She was on her feet in seconds and racing right back at me. I shielded Matt with my body as she crashed into me sending the both of us careening down on the grass beside the road.

I had the advantage so I tipped her head and bit down hard into her neck. It was revolting, my mouth filled with her blood but it tasted like that of a corpse. I bit harder just to prove a point as she slammed my head down on a rock in the grass. I was stunned just long enough for her to get a good bite of my neck and start to drain me. I gathered all of my strength and pushed her off of me. She flew up about four feet in the air before crashing hard onto the pavement. I heard her bones shatter as they hit the asphalt, and then the stomach turning sound when she twisted them back into place. I stared up into the sky and concentrated feeling my own wounds heal.

She rushed at me one last time but with the swoop of my arm I tossed her back into the SUV causing a very sizable dent. We were both panting and staring each other down, neither willing to admit defeat.

"What the hell are you?" At last, the question she had been trying to answer for weeks.

"I'm a vampire, what do you think I am?"

"No vampire is that strong. Tell me what you are before I kill you right here and now."

I flashed my fangs at her again. "Have you ever seen another beast with fangs like these, who drinks blood and who can heal that quickly?"

Before I knew what she was doing Rebekah was behind me. I saw the stake as she held it up and then with all of her strength she thrust it into my chest. I coughed and stumbled forward but didn't go down. She grabbed me again and pushed harder, but again she met with resistance. Out of pure frustration she pulled the stake out and thrust her hand straight into my chest, pulling and twisting until my heart beat in her hand in front of both of our eyes. Still I remained upright, a new heart already having taken its place.

Rebekah was red with rage now and she attacked my neck, biting down with the intent to rip my throat out, but she was only able to get at the blood. Defeated she did the only thing she thought she could do, she drained me leaving me gasping in a heap on the ground and then took off into the night. Matt was just coming to when he saw that I was hurt. He crawled over and helped me turn to my back; probably a bad idea given my wounds.

"I'm calling an ambulance." He pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and started to dial.

"No need for that." I heard Katherine before I saw her. She kicked the phone out of his hand, grabbed me up off the ground and ran to the Boarding House.

"Matt, Matt," I gasped. "He needs help, please!"

"Stefan is already there now take this quickly." She shoved a straw into my mouth after placing me down on the couch.

Katherine had to squeeze the blood in herself so she abandoned the straw. I couldn't swallow so I had to just let it run down the back of my throat. I tasted the blood, but there was something else. Something was different. I looked up at her panicked. She was going to poison me again. I had let my guard down and almost been killed by an Original. This time it would be unforgivable. I let her squeeze the bag one more time before making a face and pushing the bag away causing her to lose her grip and the bag to fall to the floor. Katherine picked it right back up, shoved the straw back in and forced the straw into my mouth.

"I don't care how you feel about me at this moment, but you had better drink this because it's the only thing that is going to make you better. There is vervain and witch hazel mixed with my blood in it, so finish the bag and then you'll fall asleep and hopefully we can figure out how to fix all of the damage you've done."

I looked up and saw that her blouse was covered in blood. It hadn't occurred to me that Katherine might experience that kind of violence right along with me. Where was Lexi? She was supposed to be there for me when trouble was coming. I had no warning this time. There was no way that she actually stayed away while I was on a first date. I weakly reached up and felt my chain, the ring was still there. I could feel my body giving in to the mixture. I heard the front door open and Stefan and Elena carrying Matt to the opposite sofa. I tried to call out his name but exhaustion was winning out against my will power.

The last thing I remember seeing was Damon sauntering into the parlor, looking back and forth between the couches and saying, "Well, well, well; if it isn't Romeo and Juliette."


	13. Twelfth

**Twelfth.**

There was no darkness this time; no black. Everything that I saw was white and soft. No matter what position I was in I felt completely relaxed and comfortable. I couldn't help but wonder if this was what my father had referred to in his letter; a place where pain does not exist. I looked around but saw only white. There were no other people, no extravagant structures or roadways of gold. I didn't see any gates, pearly or otherwise. It only made sense to deduce that I was not in fact dead. Yet I had never felt this way in life, at least not the life that I could remember. Even in my most relaxed state there was still always something looming, lurking, waiting to destroy that inner peace and thrust me back into the real world. I want to enjoy this while it lasts for who knows when it will come again.

It was impossible to tell if I'd had that thought just moments ago or if it had been days. The white euphoria eventually started to fade to an unattractive gray and the all too familiar black emptiness that always accompanied my run-ins with vervain. It also usually signaled the end of my current state of consciousness, or lack thereof. When the black came I knew that all too soon the light of reality would filter through and I would have to return to the life that was forced upon me. I wanted to stay in the dark forever. The dark was safe, no one could reach me here; no one could hurt me here. There was nothing and no one, but at least I didn't have to run.

I could hear the murmurs nearby, the conversations, the discussions, even the arguments all because of me. I found that the words were difficult to understand, as if it was taking me three times as long to absorb a single word, and by then the entire subject had changed. I felt the pain, the aches, the tender spots whenever someone would come in and touch me. My fingers were sore, my toes, my lips and ears, there was no part of me that was immune. I would open my eyes and see nothing but shadows only to have someone close them for me. I felt the needles and the tubes, I knew that somehow I was being fed, that I was getting blood and fluids but I didn't know where I was or who any of the people around me were.

I was scared all of the time now. They would put rubber masks on my face that blew air down my throat and I couldn't talk. Monitors would beep and sometimes alarms would cause dozens of people to come in the room. I'd open my eyes to see what was going on but they would close them again. I remember them taking the rubber mask off one day, I was so relieved until they tilted my head back and started shoving things down my throat. I felt woozy and dizzy all the time. Every now and then I felt a yanking on the new tube taped to my lips and suddenly there was no breath. Why were they taking away my ability to breath? They would put liquid in the tube and then suck it out, I felt like I was drowning. What had I done to deserve this torture? When was it going to end? Where was my family, my friends? Why was I all alone? Someone, anyone, please help me!


	14. Thirteenth

**Thirteenth**

I felt my eyelids flutter open and waited for someone to close them, but no one did. The pain that I had felt throughout my body had dulled, I was still sore, but not in any real pain. I looked down at my hands, each had a tube coming out, one had a clear liquid going in, the other appeared to have blood. I followed the tubing up to a pole above my bed and saw the bag, very similar to the ones that were in the cooler in the basement of the boarding house. I watched as it dripped slowly into a chamber that never seemed to fill. There was a large sticker across the front of the bag that indicated it as a "Direct Donation." I wondered what that meant. On the other side of the bed a square pump with bright numbers was controlling the amount of fluid that dropped into its chamber.

The tube that was in my mouth was gone though I could still feel one in my nose. I didn't feel hungry even though the time on the clock in front of me indicated it was almost noon and I would normally be having lunch. There were pillows piled around me, under my arms and legs, behind my head and shoulders. I could see the bottom portions of my legs were very bruised and scratched and most of my toes were taped together. As I inspected myself further a young woman walked in the room in bright pink loose fitting pants and a matching top with a very abstract design. She had a clipboard in her hand and was writing furiously.

"Well sleeping beauty I had heard that you were awake and I had to see it with my own eyes. Welcome back to the land of the living."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" My voice was scratchy and hoarse, I didn't even recognize it as my own right away.

"Probably not, but I've been caring for you for over a week now. My name is Joanie, I'm your primary nurse. Now I have to ask you a few questions and its very important that you answer them to the best of your ability, okay? Here we go. What is your name?"

"Norrah, but if you have been my nurse for a week shouldn't you already know that?"

"Sorry hun, it's part of the protocol. Now tell me again, what is your full name?"

"Norrah Christian…I mean Ella-Norrah Christian, but everybody just calls me Norrah."

"Okay…well maybe we can finish this up later when you are a little more awake."

"Why? What's wrong? I feel fine right now, we can finish the questions."

"It's just that you seem to be a little confused about your name, so the rest of the questions will probably be just as confusing."

"I'm sorry, what part of my name am I getting wrong?" This wasn't making any sense. "What do you think my name is?"

"Joanie," a voice called in from the doorway, "I think that my daughter has had enough questioning for today. Would you please go and get her paperwork together so we can take her home?" Katherine smiled sweetly at the nurse.

"Of course, Ms. Pierce, I'll have everything ready for you in just a few minutes."

"What is going on here? I've been here for more than a week? Didn't you bring me back to the boarding house? I remember being on the couch. Why didn't we just stay there?"

"If it had been that easy I would have. Believe me, I had no intention of bringing you here, but since you insisted on fighting with an Original and almost got us both killed in the process I had no choice. She drained you Norrah."

"So I can't be killed by an Original then? She tried almost everything, a stake, ripping my heart out, tearing my throat out and draining me."

"Yes, I am completely aware of what she tried since I got to feel every agonizing stab and twist."

"So why didn't I just get blood so I could heal myself then?"

"It turns out that another of your less appealing traits is that you need my blood in your system, even just a little bit. She drained you and there was nothing left, but it took a few days for us to figure out why the doctors kept giving you blood but somehow just hours later it had all but dissolved. Now that we know what you need we can get you out of here and deal with this elsewhere."

"I thought that you gave me your blood that night, in the bag with the vervain and witch hazel. Why didn't that fix me?"

"Because, my dear, once you are completely drained you have to be fed my blood and my blood alone. So until your blood supply is completely replenished I have to keep feeding you. Which reminds me…"

Joanie came back in the room with a stack of papers and what looked like a syringe in her pocket. She fussed around with the tubes in my hands and the one in my nose. Within a few minutes I was tube free and officially discharged. Katherine thanked Joanie for all of her help in a sickly sweet voice that made me want to gag.

"Oh, and one last thing before you go Joanie…" Katherine grabbed her neck and bit hard into her throat. She pushed the woman's body aside and wiped her chin with a cloth that was on one of the tables in the room.

"Why did you do that? She was just trying to help."

"She did help my dear. I've been giving you my blood so I need to replenish somehow. Don't worry, I didn't kill her, she'll wake up in an hour or so thinking that she tripped and cut herself on the edge of a table. Now let's get out of here."

"But I can't walk, and I think it might look a little suspicious if you were carrying me."

"I won't be carrying you dear, that's what men are for, but first I think a little extra medication is in order."

Katherine bent down and took the syringe from Joanie's pocket; before I had time to react she jammed it into my leg.

"Alright," she called out the door, "she's ready."

I watched as she walked out of the room. My eyelids grew heavy as the sedative took effect. What did she mean when she said "that's what men are for"? Who was coming to carry me out?

To my horror that question was answered just as I slipped into oblivion; Damon!


	15. Fourteenth

**Fourteenth.**

When I opened my eyes I found that I was back in my room at the boarding house. I was still too groggy to take a good look around, but I could tell that it was either late at night or the thick curtains had been pulled. I didn't feel any pain or soreness, though I knew I was not yet healed. There were bandages covering the backs of my hands where the tubes had been. I removed one and felt the adhesive tearing away at my skin, leaving a large square of raw flesh. After that I thought better of trying to remove the other.

My hands were tender, and I knew that the more I moved around the worse I would feel, so I tried to stay as still as possible. I saw my phone on the bedside table and reached out for it. Instantly pain ripped through my midsection as I shifted to reach it. I grabbed ahold of it and tried to move back to my previous position by the damage was done. Pain was radiating down my legs, my head started pounding and my arms felt as though nails were being driven through them. I realized I was holding my breath against the pain, and I let it out only to once again find myself in agony. I let out a moan hoping someone would hear me and come to my aid.

I saw movement out of the corner of my right eye, but I couldn't turn my head to that side to see what it was. Slowly it crept towards the bed and into focus.

"So, have you had enough?" Katherine sat down on the right side of the large bed causing the mattress to shift and me with it. I let out a pathetic cry as she moved, making herself comfortable. "Well? Are you ready for this or not?" She held up what looked like a syringe, but there was no needle on the end. The liquid inside was light orange in color, the likes of which I had never seen.

"What is it?"

"It's morphine, for the pain. Since you can't be healed yet you'll just have to suffer through this the human way. Open your mouth."

"You think I am going to let you shoot that into my mouth? No way. How do I even know that you are telling the truth? That could be anything in that syringe."

"Just take it and get it over with. Do you really think I enjoy having to spend my days at your beck and call just because you need my blood?"

"Well you wanted to be a mother, so here's your chance."

Katherine scowled at me and was just about to jam the syringe into my mouth when we heard a knock at the door and Elena came in. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"No you're not," Katherine replied as she bounced off the bed sending me into another fit of agony. "For once I am really happy to see you Elena. Here," she said as she handed over the syringe, "see if you can get her to take it. She won't take it from me, stubborn little bi…"

"I wonder where she gets that from." Elena smiled at her as Katherine grabbed her things and stormed out of the room. We both laughed as she made her way downstairs and then called in to whoever was in the parlor, "I'll be back in a few hours to feed her…it's like having a damn baby." She rushed out the front door, slamming it behind her. Elena and I both laughed as she shut the bedroom door. The laughing stopped abruptly when I realized how much it hurt.

She came over to the bed and gently sat down which I greatly appreciated. I was trying to concentrate on my breathing and not how badly my body ached. "You know you should really take this. It will help take away a lot of that pain for you."

"I just wasn't sure what it was, and Katherine doesn't have the best track record when it comes to telling me the truth."

Elena just smiled and reached behind her returning with an orange pharmacy bottle labeled 'morphine.' "I promise this is all that's in the syringe. Katherine has a bad rep, but she has been here every day genuinely concerned and trying to help. Cut her a little slack."

"I am shocked to hear those words coming out of your mouth especially after all she's put you through these last few years."

"We all just want you better, so if she is willing to help then we should all be willing to let her, even you."

"Fine." I let out a loud sigh, felt the pain rising again and nearly begged Elena for the morphine. It wasn't long before I started feeling the effects of the drug. I was drowsy, but more than that I felt it numbing my pain. It was fantastic. I had a clear head for the first time in well over a week.

"Oh no, Matt, what happened to Matt? Is he okay? Was he hurt badly? Does he remember anything? Has he asked for…"

Elena laughed. She knew what I was getting at. "Yes of course he's been asking about you. He's called me every day for updates."

"He didn't see me in the hospital, did he?"

"No, they only let family in, so Katherine compelled them all, told them you were Anna-Beth Pierce, and they should only allow her, Damon, and Stefan in."

"So you weren't able to come in at all?"

"Of course I was. I just had to plan my times around Katherine. They just figured she was an ever vigilant mother looking out for the best interest of her daughter. She was there a lot though since she had to donate enough blood for them to give you infusions around the clock. It took them five days to figure out that you had 'a rare blood type and only your mother's blood could be used.' Then another thirty six hours of tapping Katherine and transfusing you. She could only leave for an hour or two at a time to go feed and replenish. Towards the end she just started feeding on the staff. It was much more convenient. Don't worry, they were all compelled to forget."

"What about Matt?"

"Oh he's fine, completely recovered. Damon and I stayed with him while Katherine and Stefan took you to the hospital. Damon gave him his blood and then kept him at the house to periodically check for vervain. It only took a few hours, then Damon compelled him and he forgot about the whole thing. He thinks that you were in a car accident on your way home from my house. He has no idea what happened or what you are, but we've warned him to stay away from Rebekah."

"Okay, good then, I'm happy he doesn't remember." I paused for a moment. "Does anyone know how much longer I'll be stuck like this? I mean not that I don't enjoy spending some time in bed, but I would enjoy it more if it didn't hurt and I didn't have to take medication."

"Katherine figures at least another day or so, but after you feed tonight try and see if you can heal. I think she is just guessing, and anyway, I know that she will be beyond thrilled to be 'freed' from her maternal obligations." We both had to laugh at that.

"Listen, I have to run home and get some things, I'm staying with you tonight, so I'll be back in a few hours."

"You don't have to do that, Elena, I'll be fine alone. I'll only be sleeping after all."

"Yeah well morphine does eventually wear off, so someone has to be here when it does. I'll be back soon."


	16. Fifteenth

**Fifteenth.**

With Elena gone and Katherine not expected back for a few hours I decided to try and get in a nap while the morphine was still working. I couldn't have been asleep more than fifteen minutes when I heard the door open and someone enter the room. Assuming it was just Elena coming back with her stuff I rolled over towards the windows. My eyes fluttered open for a moment, a second really, just long enough to see who was in the room. Damon stood in front of the windows staring out towards the woods.

He was the last person I wanted to see right now so I pulled the covers up over my head just in time to feel the mattress shift and see him holding up the comforter so I could see his face. I scowled at him and yanked the blankets out of his hands turning back towards the door.

"You know at some point you're going to have to talk to me. You can't stay mad at me forever."

"If that's a challenge, I'm in. Let's see if I can. I mean we have eternity, right, so the worst that can happen is, well actually I don't see a negative side to that."

"Well, if you are anything like your family, I'd give it another few days. I mean Elena held out for a few weeks once, but I was able to win her over. Your mother, on the other hand…"

He knew that would get a reaction out of me. I flipped over and grabbed his neck. I wasn't in peak condition, but I was still significantly stronger than him. "Just stop, okay? Stop. I am still mad at you Damon, and I don't see an end in sight right now. You tried to kill me. You couldn't resist the urge and you bit me, nearly drained me. You would have drained me if Stefan and Katherine didn't come in when they did. Then you put on that show for Rebekah, let her bite me and break my legs before leaving me locked in the basement. So no Damon, I don't have any plan to forgive you any time soon. Now go away."

"Is there a problem in here?" Either Katherine was back early or I had slept longer than I thought.

"There won't be once he leaves."

"Fine, if you don't want to accept my apology then don't. I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep over it."

"You didn't even offer an apology! All you did was compare me to Elena and Katherine, which,

by the way, didn't win you any points at all."

Damon smirked at me and walked close to Katherine as he left the room. "You'd better feed her fast. She gets really cranky when she's hungry, just like her mother."

Katherine pushed him hard out the door and then slammed it behind him. "What did Damon want?" She crossed the room and put her bag down then came over to the bed and sat down. Fortunately the morphine was still working.

"He was just making a pathetic attempt at an apology for trying to kill me, and then allowing Rebekah to mutilate me and lock me in the basement."

"Well you seemed to have come out of that fine so no reason to revisit it. Just tell him you accept his apology unless you want him following you around like a puppy until you do. Unless that is something you are interested in," She raised her eyebrows and smiled at me, "I can tell you from experience it can be quite a wild ride."

I was so utterly disgusted that I was at a complete loss for words. My mother was trying to convince me to have some kind of a relationship with a man she had been with in the not so distant past. It wasn't bad enough that he killed Lexi and almost drained me. "I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself." She held her right wrist to her mouth and bit down hard. "Here," she said as she shoved her wrist at me.

"What are you expecting me to do?"

"I'm expecting you to drink so that you might finally be able to heal yourself and I can have my life back."

"Can't you just bleed it into a bottle?"

"This is the most efficient way, every minute it is out of my body it weakens. Damn!" She exclaimed as the wound closed and she had to bite her wrist again. "Drink it!"

She shoved her wrist to my mouth causing a terrifying flashback to the night I was turned. Feelings and images came flooding back as her warm blood passed over my tongue. I wanted this to be over just as badly as she did, it was humiliating and traumatizing. Then, to add insult to injury, the door swung open and Damon sauntered in. I started to pull away but Katherine had a death grip on the back of my neck and pushed her wrist back to my mouth.

"Well, isn't this a pretty picture; the mother feeding her daughter. Let me find a camera and capture this moment."

At that I gagged and started to cough. Katherine yanked her hand away, let my head go and rushed at Damon, grabbing him around the neck and slamming him against the wall.

"What's the matter, jealous? Perhaps you'd like to join us?" Damon's eyes lit up for a split second and she lifted him higher off of the floor. He shook his head no and she let him go. He reached for his neck as he crumbled to the floor trying to catch his breath. She turned her back on him, crossed back over to me and bit into her wrist for a third time.

"How much more do I need?" I thought we were done when she leapt up before.

"Just drink until I tell you to stop, and don't bite me or this is the last meal you're getting for a while."

Strange, I thought, because if I got weaker, it would take even longer to heal and she'd be doing this for quite some time. I drank quickly until she released my head again and pulled her arm away. She looked completely worn out and more pale than usual. She grabbed a bottle of blood from the bedside, took a few sips and stood to leave. She gathered up her things and walked passed Damon who was still healing on the floor. "I'll be back later tonight," she called as she left.

Now I was alone in the room with Damon. I grabbed my phone and sent a quick text message to Elena asking her to please come back soon. Damon was on his knees, still wheezing but able to stand upright. He stumbled over to the bed causing me to push myself back against the headboard. I looked skyward, desperate to heal so I could get out of this room, but to no avail. I just wasn't ready. Damon coughed and sputtered at the end of the bed.

Once he'd caught his breath he looked up at me. I stared right into his eyes, those piercing blue eyes. He didn't seem as intimidating anymore. I almost felt sorry for him. "Man your mother is strong…"

"Yeah, and she wasn't even running on a full tank."

He pulled himself up to a sitting position on the end of the bed. "Look, I don't do this very often, but I want to apologize for what happened with Rebekah. I had no idea of the lengths she would go to figure out whether or not you were human. I couldn't fight the urge, and I tried, believe it or not."

"You have to understand it is a little hard to believe since you attacked me the moment she was gone, so forgive me if I don't accept your apology right away."

"Look, Norrah, that day we put you in the basement, I thought you knew about the plan. Stefan said Lexi was around or something and she'd give you the heads up. I never imagined that you would have thought it was real until I heard your heart pounding. I did everything I could to re-direct Rebekah, and I had no idea she would break your legs so you couldn't move at all. Really, that was not part of the plan at all, and I'm sorry."

"Wow, two apologies in less than five minutes, you'd better take him up on it. I've never seen it happen before." Elena stood smiling in the doorway.

"Good, convince her that I'm not a monster, will you?" Damon asked as he walked towards Elena.

"I will once you prove it to me first." She smirked at him as he walked by and then shut the door behind him. "Sorry, I came as quick as I could."

"It's okay, it was nice to finally hear him say it. Whoa, how long are you planning on staying?"

We both looked down at the two suitcases, oversized purse and the pillow all piled on the floor and laughed. "I said I would stay for as long as it takes. I'm in it for the long haul." She crossed over to the bed, "Hey, are you hungry? I can run down to The Grille and grab a few burgers. I'm starving."

"Well Katherine was just here, but I'm sure I will be very soon. Building up your blood volume sure can make a girl ravenous."

"Great. Here, take this." She handed me the syringe with the morphine liquid. "Alright, I'll be back in a few."

It couldn't have been more than five minutes before I was sound asleep.


	17. Sixteenth

**Sixteenth.**

I woke up when Elena came back. She had burgers and fries in hands and Stefan followed closely behind with three large cups. I still felt groggy from the medicine, but I was too hungry to fall back asleep. We all sat there eating in silence. After we had all just about finished Stefan excused himself and exchanged glances with Elena. After he walked out the door she turned to me.

"Okay, it's time we got you cleaned up and out of this bed." I looked at her and wrinkled my forehead.

"And just how do you expect to do that?" Before I finished my sentence Stefan came back in the room wheeling what looked like an antique wheelchair in front of him. He parked it next to the bed, and before I could protest he lifted me up from the bed and placed me gently into the chair. The morphine worked really well in the bed, but being lifted and moved was another story. Pain shot through my body and I stiffened. I got a good look at my legs and feet which were still purplish/blue and very swollen. My plaited hair swung around, hitting me in the face. It was knotted beyond recognition, I had no idea how I would ever even find the elastic holding it together.

Stefan left the room telling Elena to let him know when I was ready to get back into bed. She walked around the bed and took the handles of the chair behind me. She pushed me into the bathroom, wheeled me straight into the shower and stood behind me as I pulled my nightshirt up over my head. Thankfully there were multiple movable showerheads, so while I slowly worked on the front of my body, Elena respectfully remained behind me trying to tackle the matted mess that had once been my hair. When I had finished she handed me a towel to cover myself and then leaned my head back and started working shampoo into the mess. It was the most glorious feeling having someone massage my head, and she was very gentle, trying to avoid the still tender areas of my scalp.

It took a few minutes, but soon she was able to apply the conditioner and comb out my hair enough to blow-dry it. I brushed my teeth at the sink and finally started to feel like myself again. She ran a brush through my hair a few times and told me to leave it down for now, she would re-braid it before bed. She even handed me my lipgloss. Once I had it on I looked back in the mirror. Pleased with what I saw I asked Elena to get me some clothes and between the two of us we were able to make me look presentable. Elena called down to Stefan who came up and lifted me back into bed.

"You look great, Norrah."

"Thanks Stefan." I smiled up at him and watched as his eyes flicked over to Elena. "Is something going on?" They were both acting so unusual."

Elena was almost exploding with excitement. "Matt's coming over after work. He should be here in about fifteen minutes." I was frozen in shock. "I'm sorry, but he's been asking about you like four times a day. How could I say no?"

"So Matt is coming here? But I'm still a mess, the room, the bed…I have no make-up on!"

"You look beautiful," Stefan said to me, "And Damon came in while you were in the shower and changed all the linens. He even brought up one of your bouquets."

"One of my what? I whipped my head around and saw a beautiful spray of flowers on the dresser that I hadn't noticed before. "What do you mean by one of them? There are more? Who are they all from?"

"There are four more just like it downstairs, all from a Mr. Matthew Donovan." Elena smiled. "He never got me anything like this. He really likes you, Norrah."

I heard his truck rumble into the driveway. Elena rushed over and touched up my hair as Stefan went down to let Matt in. "It's going to be fine, Norrah, trust me. Just relax and have fun." She slipped out of the room closing the door quietly behind her.

There I was, all alone, waiting for a man to come calling. I felt the rush of blood and heat in my neck and climbing to my cheeks. I tried to position myself more appropriately for a gentleman caller. I patted down my hair and straightened my nightshirt, realizing at the last minute I had no brazier on. Oh no! I could hear him coming down the hall, stopping outside the room and clearing his throat. I heard him take a deep breath and gently knock on the door.

With my heart pounding and my face bright red I called out, "Come in."


	18. Seventeenth

**Seventeenth.**

The door swung open and there he was, Matt Donovan. He was the perfect twenty-first century doppelganger. His blond hair was slightly mussed and his clear blue eyes were gazing at me as though I were a piece of art worthy of the Louvre. After a moment he broke his gaze, looked down at the bouquet of flowers he held in his hand and took a few tentative steps forward.

"Norrah, I've been meaning to come by, but Elena said that you were still too weak. I half-expected you to be bruised and broken, how are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank you. As for the bruised and broken bits, well just don't look under the sheets. I think my legs took most of the impact." I was trying hard to remember that Matt thought I had been in an accident. "Please, come and sit down." I patted the right side of the bed that was still made up.

Matt walked around the bed and handed me the flowers. They were beautiful red and white roses with green leaves and baby's breath mixed in. I placed them gently on the bedside table and turned back to Matt who was standing awkwardly next to the bed. hurt you? Because I can just come around and kneel, or pull a chair over

"Sit down," I urged him. "I certainly won't be standing up some come down to my level."

"Are you sure I won't."

"I'd prefer you just sit. It would make me feel like less of an invalid, but if you are more comfortable in the chair, that is okay too."

"No, the bed is fine, just let me know if I'm hurting you, okay?" He lowered himself down very slowly, reaching out to steady himself. I watched the muscles working in his arms and felt the heat rising up again. If I didn't chill out fast I was going to have to ask him to open a window.

Once he was safely down on the bed, and I'd assured him that I wasn't in pain, he leaned back and readjusted the pillows behind his neck. I couldn't stop staring. Oh to be one of those pillows…

"Norrah?" I snapped back to attention. "I was just wondering how the last few days have been since you got home from the hospital? I heard that your mother was here taking care of you."

"She's been here all right. It hasn't been too bad, they have me on some really good pain medication, and some of the bruising has gone away. I think it might be a few more days before I am back on my feet."

An awkward silence filled the room. As it became unbearable I remembered the TV. "So would you like to watch some TV? I don't really know what's on, but I'm sure we could find something we would both be interested in."

"Sure, do you have a remote?"

There should be one in your bedside table. I mean the one on your side." If at all possible my cheeks turned an even deeper shade of crimson. Offset by my white nightshirt I must have looked like a boiled lobster.

"Anything in particular you like to watch?"

"I'm not really a big TV watcher. Occasionally I'll find a movie I like, but I generally prefer to read."

"Okay then," he smiled over at me, "I'll choose. I should warn you, this could be dangerous."

"Well as long as I have you here to keep me safe I think that I'll be alright."

Matt flipped through the channels, passed by all of the sports which surprised me. I was happy though, there is always blood involved in televised sports and the last thing I needed was to turn in front of him. He stopped on a channel with an old man telling a young Fred Savage a story. "My sister and I used to watch this movie all the time, or rather, she forced me to watch it, but it's not a bad choice. What do you think?"

I looked up at the screen blankly. "I don't know, I've never seen it."

"You've never seen 'The Princess Bride', seriously?"

"Seriously, but if you say that it's good lets watch."

As the movie picked up and the young maiden was ordering the farm hand around, I couldn't help but think that Katherine probably treated my father the same way, and I giggled quietly. When he was taken from her or her from him, I felt Matt's fingers searching the bed for my hand and then interlocking with mine. I thought that my heart was going to pound out of my chest. Thank goodness he was human and couldn't hear it. I also noticed that every now and then he would readjust his position and end up an inch or so closer to me.

Soon our upper arms were touching, though he thoughtfully kept his legs far away from mine. I could feel the heat radiating off of him, as I'm sure he could feel the same from me. Cautiously I leaned my head over onto his shoulder and he released my hand and wrapped his arm up over my shoulder. I felt as though I could fly. He took my left hand in his right, being careful to avoid the still open and tender spot where I tore off the bandage.

I cuddled into him. From where my head rested I could hear his heart beating. It was so soothing, so comforting. His body felt just like Thomas's and I soon started to drift off.

"Norrah," Matt quietly said, "are you awake?"

I looked up at him with drowsy eyes and nodded. I was so happy to be awake and know that this wasn't a dream!

"Would you mind if I gave you a kiss?" What a gentleman. First flowers and now a kiss, how lucky I was today!

The pain that has slowly started to return in my legs melted completely away.

"No Matt, I don't think I would mind that at all." He helped me up off of his chest and into a sitting position. His strong hand whisked the hair away from my face and then pulled me towards him.

As soon as we made contact it was clear that our lips were designed to perfectly fit one another. He took my cheek in his other hand and I let him guide me down towards the pillows. I was sixteen years old all over again, being kissed by the man that I loved. I never wanted it to end, but, as all things, this too must come to an end sometime. Unfortunately 'sometime' had a name, Katherine.

"What the hell do you think you are doing to my daughter?"

Matt jumped up causing a sudden and jerky movement to the bed causing the pain hit me hard. I cried out and he reached for me but Katherine was already at my side, fangs barred and ready to bite. Matt stood there, pale as a ghost, looking back and forth between my tears of agony and loss and Katherine's fangs.

I looked over at her and begged her to just let him go. He didn't do anything wrong, it was my fault. She didn't listen, in a flash she was behind him. I could hear the moment she sank her teeth in. I screamed out for Damon who appeared out of nowhere and pulled her off of Matt. He fell over in a heap. I cried out for him but he didn't move. Damon didn't waste time trying to calm her down. He grabbed Matt and took off, leaving me alone with a blood soaked Katherine whose fangs had not yet retracted.

"She stormed over to me, ripped the sheets off of my legs and in one quick motion turned me and forced me to stand. I felt like I was standing one a bed of large bore needles. I was screaming from the pain at this point, begging her to let me lay down. My tears had no effect on her. Instead she slapped me across the face, called me a whore and then pushed me back leaving my broken and bruised legs dangling. She twisted me back into the bed as I yelled out in agony, bit down hard into her wrist, and shoved it up against my mouth.

Stefan suddenly appeared in the doorway. "What is going on Katherine? Why did Damon just run by me with Matt Donovan unconscious? And Norrah, what the hell did you…"

Katherine pulled her arm away and turned on Stefan. First she slammed him up against a wall and then threw him out of the room with such force that I heard him twist over the banister and hit the hard floor below. Shock and fear took over and my tears dried up. Her fangs descended again but this time she took a swipe at my neck, biting far harder than was necessary. Then again, she wasn't planning to feed, just to punish. She grabbed a towel from the bathroom and pushed it up to my neck then bit her other wrist and held it to my face. I drank quickly because I was terrified of what she might do to me if I didn't.

I was finished quickly and she pulled my hand up to hold the towel myself. "If I ever find you with that boy again, Anelia, I will kill him. I don't ever want you near that family again."

"It was your fault I was ever involved with his family in the first place. You compelled Thomas to love me." I shot back at her.

"Yes, and we saw what an obvious mistake that was. You are just lucky your little brat didn't get herself turned and killed him even sooner."

I was FUMING! How could my own mother, Maddie's grandmother, say such horrid things? "Get out, GET OUT and don't you EVER come back here again."

"Fine, then let's see how much better you get without me then Anelia."

"For the last time, my name is NORRAH!" She slammed the door just as I threw the blood soaked towel after her. It hit the door, splashing blood everywhere and then slid down, hitting the floor with a sickly slosh.

"Give my love to Stefan when he wakes up," she called from the hallway. "Goodbye my girl, see you again in another life."

"You BITCH." I called after her, but she was already long gone.


	19. Eighteenth

**Eighteenth.**

I held my hand up to my neck, I was still bleeding. I knew it was a long shot but I cast my eyes skyward and concentrated harder than I ever had before. It took a few moments but suddenly I felt the blood stop and the holes closing under my palm. I pulled the sheets off and watched my legs shrink to their normal size and a pleasing pale pink return where bruises had been. I pulled my knees up to my chest. Still very tender, but I could do it. I gazed up again and concentrated. The tenderness turned to a dull soreness that I could live with. I tried to stand up but my legs were too weak after almost fourteen days in bed.

I sat back down and grabbed my phone. I texted Elena, 'boarding house, 911," praying that she would get it quickly. She must have been close because she was running through the door less than five minutes later. I heard her feet pounding down the hallway and stopping short at Stefan who had started pulling himself together. He gave her a quick explanation, she helped him to sit up against the wall, and she rushed up the stairs and threw my door open.

"Norrah, oh my God, you're healing! Where's Matt?"

"I don't know, I need you to call Damon," I was starting to get frantic.

"Why Damon?" I gave her a very quick rundown of what had happened, not about the kid of course, Katherine walking in on that was humiliating enough. I told her that Damon had come and taken Matt and then Katherine turned on me before letting me feed and then left.

"I don't think she is coming back anytime soon either. Good Riddance! Thank goodness she left me with just enough to heal."

Elena pulled out her phone and called Damon. It rand for what seemed like an eternity before he answered. Matt was fine, he was all healed, compelled, and sleeping it off in his own bed. I grabbed the phone from her. "What did you tell him happened?"

"Not much, just every little smooch and cuddle I could hear. You haven't kissed a guy for a long time have you? I mean talk about your heart beating out of your chest…" I hung up the phone.

"Such a dick," I muttered.

"Don't worry about Damon," Elena said as she took the phone back. "Do you want one more night in heaven with the morphine?"

"No, just get rid of it please."

"Okay, but remember, I did ask." Elena smiled as she slipped into the bathroom and flushed what was left of the liquid. "Do you mind if I run down and check on Stefan?"

"No, of course not, let me know how he's doing."

Elena slipped out of the room. I sat on the edge of the bed slowly working the muscles to strengthen them. They seemed to be getting stronger by the minute, but I figured that walking was probably out of the question at least until tomorrow. While kicking my legs around I remembered that I had a stack of pictures in my top drawer of Lexi and me. I hadn't seen her in quite a while which was both frustrating and frightening.

I pulled open the drawer and was surprised to find the journals. It seemed like eons had gone by since Stefan had given them to me, yet I still hadn't really looked at them. I held the older one delicately in my hands, turning it over and looking for any markings on the cover but found nothing. I gently placed it back in the drawer and pulled out the newer copy. The cover was beautiful, meant to match the original but of a much higher quality. This one clearly said 'Petrova' on the binding and a small K.P. in the lower right hand corner of the front cover in gold script.

I heard Elena coming back up the stairs and quickly placed the book back with the other and closed the drawer.

"Really working those legs out hard today, huh? You are going to sleep great tonight! No pain and an awful lot of excitement."

"If only it had all been good."

"Well, Damon just called me because Matt woke up asking about you. He'd like to come by and see you tomorrow, maybe finish up that movie you were watching? His sister, Vicki, had it on VHS and DVD and she used to torture him with it. I'm surprised he even allowed you to watch it."

"Actually, it was his suggestion."

"Really? Well I guess he's caught the bug then, because no guy would ever be caught dead watching that movie unless his girlfriend or boyfriend forced him to."

I turned my legs back up into bed and rubbed them. "Well I certainly hope I can walk by tomorrow, otherwise you;ll have to get that chair back in here and wheel me into the bathroom again because I am not letting anyone else see me before I shave my legs." We both laughed and then yawned simultaneously, making us laugh even harder.

"Well, what do you say we get tucked in and fall asleep to the TV, anything but 'The Princess Bride.' Is that okay or do you need quiet?"

"I have been unconscious for almost half of my visit to Mystic Falls, the last thing I need right now is quiet." Elena slipped into the bathroom to change and brush her teeth, brought me the basin I had been using for mine and then we switched the TV on and the lights off. We fell asleep face to face, both with our hands up on the pillow, almost mirror images. The next day I planned to tackle that journal. I had to know what made Katherine who she was today…

**End of Part One!**


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